Defeated
by maryclumsykatherine
Summary: Zach and Cammie finally have everything they want: friends, family, even a child, but someone's threatening to take it all away. Sequel to Undeserving! -T because I'm paranoid-
1. Chapter 1

**Ahh! It's the sequel! Sorry it took so long. It's been crazy the past few days. The action starts right away, but don't worry. I'll be incorporating flashbacks so y'all can get some Zammie and have a little bit of an idea what happened between Undeserving and where this picks up.**

**Tell me what y'all think, okay? I hope y'all like it. But, first, I have to get a few "first chapter" things in order(:**

**-Disclaimer (the one and only for this story): I don't own anything here other than the plot and the words I've written. The amazing parts? They belong to Ally Carter.**

**-Updating Schedule: Y'all know I try hard to update as often as I can(: I'm going to set some days when I'll definitely update (unless something crazy happens!), and then maybe surprise y'all on other days. Saturday and Thursday are for those "for sure" days, but I'll probably update more than just that.**

**-Reviews: Reviews mean the world to me. I _always_ reply to reviews if you leave one with an account to show y'all how much I appreciate them, but even that isn't enough. I will never, ever require a certain number of reviews before posting the next chapter, though. Don't worry.**

**Thanks to Ash, violets-are-violet for being my amazing Beta.**

**Sooo, review for me, guys? Here it is!**

**Zach POV**

It was crazy how I couldn't help the way my heart raced and my lips stretched wide as I came home from HQ that night, but I guess that's love, right?

Even after six years of being married to my Gallagher Girl, my whole being jumped with excitement every day I came home and saw her beautiful face and my child.

Yeah, that's right. _Child_. The smile grew even wider as I twisted the key into the lock of the door and thought about when Cammie finally agreed to be a mom.

* * *

_We were on the way to pick up Grant and Bex from the airport. They finally got married, and they were returning from their honeymoon in Australia._

_I was driving, and Cam was playing with the radio, trying to find a station she liked. I grabbed her hand and held it tight, bringing it to my mouth and kissing it. We'd been blissfully married for two years now, and, even though we had our tiffs, we always worked through them._

_Finally she just sighed, frustrated, and slammed her hand against the power button, turning the radio off completely._

_I was about to make a cocky comment, but she cut me off before I could. "Let's talk kids," she said, using the same line I had said so many years ago. Well, only two, but it still seemed like ages while seemingly like just yesterday at the same time._

_My jaw dropped, and I stared at her. Her eyes twinkled as she laughed and grabbed the steering wheel. _Gosh, she's so beautiful_, I thought._

"_Zach! Eyes on the road, honey."_

_I tried to get over my shock, shaking my head and directing my attention back to the asphalt in front of me. "Right," I muttered under my breath. Speaking up, I asked, "What brought this on?"_

_She sighed, "I told you I would think about it."_

_I scoffed. Lovingly, of course. "Two years of thinking?"_

_Great. Now she was glaring, "Yes, _Zachary_, it was an important decision. It couldn't be a rash one."_

"_Two years is definitely not rash."_

"_Exactly," she smiled proudly._

"_So what decision did you come to?"_

"_Well, I knew where you stood, Mr. Best-Dad-in-the-World. And, after some thinking, I decided I agree. I want to be a mom, and I want to raise a child with you."_

"_Really?" I started to get excited now. If I hadn't been in a car or driving, I would have picked her up and twirled her._

_As we were pulling into a parking spot at the airport, she whispered, "Really."_

_Cutting the engine off, I pulled her face to mine and kissed her._

"_We're going to be parents," I said, kissing her again as we met Bex and Grant._

"_Are you ready for this?"_

"_Probably not," I answered honestly. "But, with you at my side, I'm sure we can handle it."_

_She smiled up at me before Bex tackled her in a hug, telling her a story about how she disproved kangaroos' reputation for being dangerous boxers._

* * *

I opened the door, waiting to be tackled by my little boy, Riley. When my legs were never attacked, I frowned. Normally I would have hugged and kissed Cammie by now and be 'wrestling' on the floor with my boy.

I walked into the kitchen and saw a note in Cam's handwriting.

"Zach,  
Riley and I are heading over to Liz and Jonas's house for an hour. Jonas was flipping out because Liz is purple. Some experiment gone wrong… Stop smirking and rolling your eyes. We'll be home soon. Can't wait to see you, darling. Would you mind putting the lasagna from the fridge into the oven for me?  
We love you,  
Cammie and Riley"

I smiled at how well she knew me. I _had_ been smirking and rolling my eyes. I put the lasagna in the oven as ordered and decided to watch a little of the football game Grant had been going on and on about today hoping Cammie wouldn't be long.

**Cammie POV**

"_She's purple, Cam! _Purple!" It was quiet for a second before I heard Jonas's voice again on the phone, but I heard him calling Liz's name in the background. _"I think she's losing consciousness," _Jonas panicked.

"Don't worry, Jonas. I'm on my way, okay? Don't do anything," I attempted to calm him down before hanging up the phone.

"Come on, Riley! We're going to go visit Aunt Liz and Uncle Jonas," I called. I sighed, knowing I wouldn't be here when Zach came home. I had found out some news today that I wanted to tell him as soon as he was home. I guess that wasn't going to happen now.

He came running down the hall from his bedroom. He had some green paint smudged on his cheek and covering his hand.

Riley was mine and Zach's four year old little child. He was our pride and joy. All of our friends loved him, and he was absolutely spoiled. He looked like a mini-Zach, but Zach said we were just alike in our personalities.

He was already turning out to be the makings of an amazing spy if he chose that path when he grew up. Zach and I had decided we wouldn't ever pressure him into that decision. The life of a spy was a difficult one.

Already Riley felt the pains of having spy parents. There were times when one of us wasn't there, and the rare times when we were both gone. He had his amazing "aunts and uncles" as well as his grandparents, though, and he loved staying with them. Zach and I tried our best to be slightly picky with the missions we went on, but that wasn't always an option.

Riley was going to be a little heartbreaker someday, no doubt, but, thankfully, he hadn't inherited his daddy's smirk… yet.

"Were you playing with your paints again, Riley?" I asked in a reprimanding tone.

His eyes widened and the guilt on his face was apparent, "No way, Mommy," he said.

"Oh, really?" I asked. He nodded so I brushed my thumb over the paint and showed it to him, "What's this then?"

He hung his head in shame.

"Didn't I tell you not to because it was too late, and we'd do it tomorrow?"

He nodded with tears in his eyes.

I hugged him tight to my chest, "It's okay, honey. Just don't do it again, okay? No lying, either."

"Okay, Mommy," my four year old promised.

"Go get your shoes, okay?"

He ran off to get shoes, and I scribbled a note to Zach about where we were.

On the way to Liz's, I was thinking about the trip Zach and I had planned to visit my parents when my attention shifted to the car behind me in the distance. I bit my lip, realizing it was a tail.

I glanced back at Riley. He was still asleep. Thank God. I began to use every technique I knew to get rid of the tailing car, but they were good.

After one particularly sharp turn, I thought I'd lost them, but then I was surrounded in every direction.

**Zach POV**

I glanced at the clock. 8:15. I knew Cam would have called by now if it was taking that long to take care of the Liz problem. I had taken the lasagna out an hour ago.

I picked up the phone and dialed Jonas's number.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, man."

"_Zach! Where's Cam? She was supposed to be here ages ago."_

"She's not there?"

"_No. She's not with you?"_

I hung up.

I started to get worried. More than worried. I panicked.

**Cammie POV**

They, whoever they are, threatened to kill Riley. So, I went with them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Warning: It's short. Ridiculously short, but trust me, you don't want to read any more of this awful writing. I've had a few meltdowns this week because of school and, on top of that, major writer's block. And I got a 95 on my pre-cal test today ): So, it's short. I hope y'all like it anyway, but it would be a miracle.**

**Y'all deserve better after y'all's reviews. I'm blown away. I even cried a little when I saw how many I had just from one chapter. HUGE thank you. Hopefully my story will turn out to be totally worth it.**

**So, on to the shortest chapter ever. Enjoy(:**

Zach POV

Panic. Fear. Shame. Anger. Hurt. Tormented. Loss. Despair. Guilt. Powerlessness. Pained. Crushed.

Paralyzed.

The emotions were so fierce all at once that they smothered me.

When I started to see stars, I realized I hadn't been breathing.

My spy training kicked in, and I breathed. I collected myself. I pushed everything that was running through me back until I could deal with it. Which wouldn't be until after I had my Gallagher Girl and my son in my arms again.

My immediate response, after I recovered, of course, was to follow her tracks. I got in my car and drove as if I was going to Liz's, but I realized Cammie was smart enough to spot a tail and would've tried to lose it. I looked for signs to see where she had gone, but Cammie wasn't careless. She was too good to make mistakes.

Remembering her cellphone, I realized I could track her location from it. Even if she didn't have it, I could possibly find where she was ambushed and that would be a start. It wasn't a normal cellphone, obviously, and the CIA had major upgrades on it.

I wouldn't be able to break down the firewalls myself.

I didn't know if I was ready for this. To tell everyone that she was gone meant that it was real.

I called an SOS meeting with all of our friends. Driving to Jonas and Liz's house where we had agreed to meet, it was harder to keep my emotions at bay. Prepared? I wasn't at all. I wasn't prepared to accept reality. I wasn't prepared for the return of the feeling that a hand had reached into my chest and ripped my heart from my body. I most definitely was not prepared to face the angry and hurt reactions of everyone when I told them that I had failed in protecting the two people I loved more than anyone or anything else in the world.

Cammie POV

One of the men grabbed my arm roughly and tried to bind my hands together, but, because I was holding Riley, he was having a difficult time.

"Drop him," he ordered.

"No."

He slapped me, but I didn't flinch. "Now!"

I refused to let him out of my arms so I glared and said, "My hands are just as well as bound. I'm not going to do anything while I'm holding him."

He grabbed my arms again trying to wrestle them behind my back, but I held my son too tightly.

He slapped me again and commanded, "Let go of the kid!"

"No!" I started to struggle and scream. Everything was out the window. The only thing on my mind was protecting my heart in the form of a four-year old boy.

When he started to pull out the knife, another man stepped forward and put his hand on the first man's shoulder, "Remember our orders. She's wanted unharmed."

He glared at me but grudgingly said, "One wrong move and I won't hesitate to hurt him."

There was no way the coldness and cruelty in his voice was anything but serious, and it sent chills through my bones.

Riley was still asleep even after the confrontation. Thank God. I didn't want him to wake up and see these men. I didn't want him to fear, but I knew it was only a matter of time before his eyes opened to this terror.

We were shoved into car after car so it would be more difficult for anyone to find us. It seemed like ages before we finally arrived. I couldn't see past the bodies that surrounded me in every direction, making a circle around me.

Grabbing my arm, yanking my hair, kicking me forward…. It didn't matter as long as they kept away from Riley. And they did.

They sat me in a golf cart, and I was a little confused, but, after years in the business of espionage, I was used to strange things. Blindfolded, I felt us move forward.

A few minutes later, after the blindfold was removed, Riley and I were shoved into a room. The lights came on, and I was in my home.

Well, an exact replica of my home. It was so exact and detailed that I stepped forward to run my hand along the bench inside the foyer to check if it was real. If it hadn't been for the lack of the smell of Zach's cologne lingering just slightly in the air, I might not have known that it wasn't my real home.

I wasn't ready to let Riley out of my sight, so instead of putting him in his bed, I carried him with me from room to room to see if there were any dangers lying in wait.

There weren't.

Not a thing was out of place. Even the lasagna I'd prepared was staying warm in the oven.

When I stepped into the master bedroom, there was something different. A shadow of a man caught my eye. He stepped out of the shadows into view.

Finally I managed to mutter, "Josh?"

**Before y'all call me out for being unoriginal, just wait, okay? I promise it will have its own twist different than anything I personally have read. You can rant at me, however, on how much this chapter sucked.**

**Review, please?**

**My update for this weekend **_**may **_**be late, just a forewarning since I have a 5 page paper to write **_**and **_** a Spanish project. I'm also going on a ghost tour and my brother has a spelling bee, so I've got to see how well I can manage my time(:**

**Also, I'll be writing a songfic sometime next week (or maybe this weekend if I have time. After I write the next chapter of course). So keep a look out(: I'm excited.**

**Enough, enough, enough! Goodness(: Have a GREAT day, okay? Friday is only a few hours away!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Did you make it? It's finally the weekend(: School refuses to leave me alone though! 5 page paper and Spanish project to do this weekend! Yuck. I'm going on a ghost tour tonight to an old jail (the one where the first woman serial killer was) with some friends though, so that will be **_**tons **_**of fun right? If I have any experiences, I'll make sure to share them with y'all(:**

**So, my beta, as always, is just about one of the most fantastic people! Thanks Ash, violets-are-violet.**

**Thanks to all of you reading this! It means so much(: To my reviewers? Y'all deserve a trophy. Each and every one of you. I never ever could have imagined having this many reviews, especially this early. It's incredible.**

**Y'all ready for this next chapter? Hmmm… Maybe I should just torture y'all some and wait a few days to update? Yes? Oh! No? Okay(: Here it is:**

Zach POV

I had just finished telling the crew what had happened, and barely managed to get out a whispered, "They're gone."

Jonas, Nick, and Grant both had the same expression on their face. Hurt and scared because they were all like brothers to Cammie. They also looked at me with worry to make sure I was holding up okay. Which I wasn't. Bex, the one whose reaction I was most scared of, was in shock, staring at me. Macey's tears were silently running down her face. She looked like her heart had been shattered. Liz was the one that surprised us all. She was the one who wasn't immediately hurt or shocked, she was angry.

Her face was red, and she began to scream at me at the top of her lungs, "Zachary Goode! How could you let this happen? We trusted you! We trusted you to keep them safe. To protect them."

Jonas's mouth popped open in surprise, and he started to try to comfort her, "Liz, honey, just calm do-"

Tears were streaming down her face as she continued her rant, "No! This is _his_ fault. Cammie's _gone_! Riley's _gone_!They're only God-knows-where in only God-knows-what condition!"

Every word made me flinch. Every word felt like ten thousand needles being plunged into my heart. Because it was true. Every word was true.

"You're a sorry excuse of a man, Zachary Goode," she hissed the words at me like venom before she walked out the front door of her house and slammed the door behind her.

We all sat shocked at Liz's out-of-character outburst with tears on our face. The trance was broken about two minutes later when the door opened again and Liz walked through.

She glared at me, "I would kick you out of _my_ home, but we have work to do."

At that, Bex, who was the only one not crying and still in shock, started to wail. She wailed like I've only ever heard people wail when a loved one has been pronounced dead or extremely injured. She wailed like everyone else in the room **(As soon as I typed that, "everyone else in the room" was sang by One Direction in "What Makes You Beautiful" that had come up on my playlist! Cool…)** wanted to.

Sobs racked her body, and her screams of anguish reached the ears of everyone. Grant wrapped his arms around her, but she slapped and punched him screaming at him to let her go. He ignored her, and just held her tightly. Finally, she just collapsed into his arms and cried even harder. He picked her up and took her to a spare bedroom. We heard her crying for another half hour, and then a periodic sob every now and then for the next fifteen minutes. Finally Grant came out of the bedroom and told us she was asleep.

The first five minutes of that time, we all sat crying and comforting each other and Liz apologized.

She came up to me and said, "Zach, I'm sorry. My words were harsh, and they weren't fair to you. I know you love them both and wouldn't have let anything happen to them if you could prevent it."

I just looked at her, "You were right, though."

I think she knew that I couldn't be argued with about it, but her eyes told me that she thought I was wrong even though she only said, "Nonetheless, I'm sorry."

I nodded at her to show that it was okay. She gave me a big hug and took control of the situation. Another out-of-character move, but I guess when something this devastating happens, everyone acts differently.

In her sweet-Liz manner, she told everyone to get it together and that she knew everyone was hurting, but it wasn't going to help get them back if we just sat around crying.

We all knew she was right, and Grant asked, "What do we do first?"

"I was hoping you could break through the CIA firewalls, Jonas and Liz, and track her cellphone so that we could find her car and look to see where they got her. I know she was on her way here and probably saw a tail so she could have taken any route to get rid of them," I said.

"We can do that. Go get the laptop, Jonas," Liz commanded.

Cammie POV

"Josh?" I asked again.

He took another step forward, "Cammie? Oh my gosh. It's you."

"What are you doing here?"

He shook his head in confusion, "I have no idea. I just woke up here two days ago. I don't know how I got here."

"Nothing's happened the whole time."

He shook his head again, "There's food and everything in the fridge and pantry. It just… shows up. The showers work. I've basically been left alone, but the front and back door are locked."

I sat on the bed, trying to make sense of everything.

Josh looked at me, obviously uncomfortable with the awkward situation. He sat next to me, but I gave him a look, and he quickly stood again.

He shifted his weight back and forth from foot to foot before asking, "So… umm… This is your child?"

I glared, "Yes. Mine and _Zach's_."

At his name, a shock ran through my body and I screamed.

"Cammie? Cammie, are you okay?" Josh panicked.

I looked at Riley, it hadn't affected him, but he was starting to wake up at my scream. I thought about myself and realized that the shock must have been really low. I didn't feel any differently except I was a little out of breath.

I nodded at Josh and tried to figure out what had caused it. Obviously it was mentioning Zach, but how did they shock me? Then I saw it. I hadn't had the chance to notice since I had been blindfolded and then was examining the house.

On my wrist was a bracelet not unlike a dog collar for electric fences, but obviously modified. It was actually a pretty piece of jewelry, but it was a dangerous one. It was impossible to remove. I realized it must have been placed on my wrist when the man and I had fought earlier, and I was too worried about Riley to notice.

"What happened?" Josh asked.

I held up my wrist, "It shocked me."

He looked like he was going to get sick.

Riley, still in my arms, was finally awake and rubbing his eyes. His green eyes, just like Zach's, popped open, and he looked at Josh.

"Who are you?"

Josh looked at me before smiling at Riley and saying, "I'm Josh."

Then I saw Josh crumple to the floor. Riley screamed, and I sat him on the bed and went to check on Josh who seemed okay now.

He looked at his own wrist and his eyes bugged when he saw the same bracelet that I had on his arm, too. I glanced at Riley and saw that he had one as well.

Seeing that Riley had the same torture tool and could be hurt at any second made hatred and anger run through my veins.

I looked back at Josh, who was fully recovered except for his breathing now.

I had done all of this in an only a few seconds, and as Josh opened his mouth, something stopped him.

The walls were now lit up, and the words "The boy shall address Josh Abrams as 'Dad'" were repeated over and over covering every inch. They were there for about forty-five seconds before they disappeared and the walls went back to normal.

I looked at Riley who looked terrified.

"Mommy? Why is our house glowing?"

I just went to him, wrapped in a hug, and whispered into his ear, "Honey, we're going to play a game, okay? I need you to do _exactly _as I say and not ask questions. I promise I'll explain later."

He looked at me and saw the seriousness there, "Okay, Mommy."

"The first rule of this… game is that you call my friend here 'Daddy.' Can you do that?"

Confusion was all over his face, but he nodded.

The walls lit up again with another command.

"Time for a _family_ dinner. Eat the lasagna," it ordered.

**I know you're probably pretty confused right now. Hopefully some of it makes sense, though. I can't really clear it up without giving something away! Sorry! If you have a question though, definitely ask in a PM or review!**

**Also, if you think Liz and everyone else is kinda OOC, I get that. I tried to explain it with Zach's thoughts, too, though. If you still think so, let me know and I'll explain my reasoning and listen to yours(:**

**I love y'all! Review, please? Have a great weekend(:**

**-Mary Katherine(:**


	4. Chapter 4

**Important****: I'm changing my update schedule. Instead of designating the day as Thursday, I'll have one weekday update and one weekend update for sure. I'll **_**always**_** hold true to that unless I notify y'all beforehand. That doesn't mean I won't update more, though! It just lets me work with my schedule while still (hopefully!) keeping y'all happy.**

**Important:**** I have a new idea for y'all(: To show just how absolutely stunned and thankful I am for y'all's reviews, I'm offering an incentive to every 20****th**** reviewer. So, reviewer 80, 100, 120, and so on… You can write a phrase or choose a word and I'll incorporate it into my next chapter! If it's an anonymous or non-PM reviewer, it will go to the person who reviewed before that one. What do y'all think?**

**As to the electric shock thing, I did do some research. Electricians and dogs get shocked pretty often, and it doesn't have a major impact I don't think as long as the voltage isn't very high. That's kind of how it is in this case, you know?**

**Thank you to my reviewers! I really am absolutely stunned. I think I'm still thinking I'm in a dream. I can't believe it.**

**Thanks to all of my buddies that keep me happy(: You know who you are (; I'll shout out next time when my AN isn't so long!**

**Thanks to violets-are-violet, my fantastic beta, as always(:**

**Sorry for the length! I just had some important things to share! Okay(: On to the chapter! Enjoy(:**

Zach POV

Everyone was still at Jonas and Liz's, who had offered their home for everyone to stay in until we had Cammie back so we could plan more easily, but I had been forced out because there was nothing I could do at the moment. They said I was being _counter-productive _with my attitude. Ha. That didn't go over well.

Nonetheless, I was in my car on the way to do something I had hoped I would never have to. I had been putting this moment off.

The moment when I told her parents.

I drove up to the Gallagher gates and Bubblegum Guard, as Cammie refers to him, let me through with a wave. I scowled back, but he didn't look too discouraged. Maybe he didn't see through the dark tinted windows of my convertible.

I stepped out of my car and took a deep breath before making my way up the steps of the mansion. Reminding myself to breathe and not to cry because Zachary Goode does _not _cry, I walked through the halls that brought back too many memories before I knocked on the headmistress's door.

Since Matthew had returned, he had been staying at Gallagher helping out with the Cove-Ops class. He could almost always be found with Rachel, though.

"Come in," I heard her call through the door.

I swung the door open and walked in. She and Matt were sitting on the couch in her office. She was resting her head on his shoulder working on paperwork while Matt read a book I couldn't quite see the name of.

Matt gave me a stern look, muttering a hello.

Rachel looked up and smiled before she gave me a hug, "Zach! What are you doing here? Is Cammie with you?"

I sat in the chair close to the couch and kept a straight face, "No… She's not here with me. She's why I came."

Matt was automatically on the defense. His face was already turning red with anger when he said to me, "What did you do to my daughter? I swear if you hurt her in any way, I will-"

Rachel placed a hand on his shoulder affectionately and calmed him down before he could get too far into his threat, "Now, Matthew, Zach loves Cammie. He wouldn't do that."

I looked down, ashamed. "No, no. He's right. I deserve it."

Now Rachel started to get worried and seemed to finally take in my appearance. One that had gotten progressively more disheveled the longer Cammie and Riley were gone. "What happened?" She demanded.

"I don't know exactly… But, Cammie and Riley… they're missing." My voice cracked several times as I delivered the news.

"What?" Tears were already streaming down both of their faces.

I sat and explained everything to them. Told them everything I knew and what I didn't. What we were doing to get her back.

"I promise. I promise I'll get them back," I whispered when I finished.

Rachel looked at me through her tears. She whispered back, "I know you will."

Matt was quiet. He seethed with an anger that pushed his sadness to the very farthest corners of his mind. Whether the anger was directed at me or her captors, I'm not sure. I left before I could find out.

Cammie POV

We quickly found out that the orders from the wall wouldn't be stopping anytime soon. Commands were given about the smallest of things.

I was confused at first, but one command made it all make sense.

* * *

After dinner, Riley was yawning and ready for bed. I contemplated whether or not it would be safe for him to be left alone in his own bed. I knew if I put him in mine, he would be alerted to danger. Right now I had seemed to keep that aspect of everything going on from him.

It seemed like whoever was holding us didn't necessarily want to inflict harm upon us unwarranted anyway. As long as we followed their orders, we were safe. The orders weren't dangerous or conspiratorial. They were just strange.

Putting him in some pajamas, I placed him in his bed.

"Who's going to read me my bedtime story?" He asked.

Zach, who really did live up to the "Best Dad Ever" reputation he had teased me about so many years ago, always read him a story.

At the question, the walls lit up. Riley couldn't yet read which made the whole situation somewhat better. It was only Josh and I that knew what the walls were saying.

**(From henceforward, underlined sentences like this one are commands from the wall!)**

"_Daddy_ reads Riley a bedtime story every night, doesn't he? Tonight is no exception."

Josh read the words and followed them. We knew the consequences of not obeying, and we weren't taking that chance. His acting skills weren't all that terrible when it came to protecting Riley. For that, I was eternally grateful.

He sat on the edge of the bed and said to Riley, "Well, buddy, I will. What do you want to read?"

Riley looked confused, but excited to hear a story. He tapped his chin in thought before he said with real enthusiasm, "Let's read _Guess How Much I Love You_!"

Smiling at him, I said, "I think that's a great choice."

Josh grabbed the book from the bookshelf and began to read. When he finished, Riley was nearly asleep.

Giving him a hug and kissing his forehead, I whispered into his hear, "I love you, Riley. Don't you ever forget it."

His voice was plagued with exhaustion and he mumbled back, "Love you, too, Mommy."

I smoothed his hair down before turning out the lights and walking out with Josh. I kept the door open, though.

"Cammie?" Josh ventured.

I looked at him, "Yes?"

"What's going on?"

"I have no idea," I answered honestly.

He looked like he was about to say something, but he closed his mouth and asked a different question, "Are you going to go to sleep now?"

I wasn't sure if I would actually sleep, but I didn't know what else to do so I answered, "I think so."

He nodded, "I was thinking of doing the same. I guess I'll sleep on the couch."

I nodded at him about to tell him that was probably a good idea, but the walls lit up again with new directions and I was cut off.

"You shall both sleep in the master bedroom. Together."

We knew better than to protest and just gave each other a very strangled look before making our way there.

We took turns changing in the bathroom into pajamas. It was really, _really_ strange seeing Josh in Zach's clothes, but I didn't say anything."

I threw on a t-shirt and some flannel pants before slipping beneath the covers. I felt Josh lay beside me keeping his distance.

We had both just closed our eyes in an attempt to shut out the awkwardness when the walls lit up yet again.

"A husband and wife should always give each other a goodnight kiss," It read.

We both stared at each other in shock as the pieces started to click together. We made no move to touch our lips to one another. It was only five seconds before I felt electricity run through my body.

At some invisible being's prodding, Josh leaned close to me. Just as our lips were about to meet, I twisted my head. His lips brushed my cheek, earning me another shock.

My head was in the midst of an inner battle. I know Zach would never judge me in this situation, but I couldn't do it. Finally my love for Riley won out in the mental war, and I quickly leaned in and pecked Josh on the lips.

Turning my back to him and curling up under the covers, I closed my eyes thinking about how my comment to Riley earlier couldn't have been more true.

We _were_ playing a game. A sick game of "house."

**Don't hate me! I know, I know. A kiss? I deserve to be bound and gagged.**

**Nonetheless, loved it? Hated it? Original? Not? Let me know what you think, please!**

**Love y'all soo much! Review?**

**-Mary Katherine(:**


	5. Chapter 5

**Longest chapter yet! I hope y'all like it(:**

**I can't BELIEVE the feedback I've gotten on this story. I know I say it over and over, but it's still not enough. Thank you.**

**Also, thanks to violets-are-violet, my beta.**

**Thanks to Posideon, my 80****th**** reviewer. I also had a 100****th**** reviewer (eek!), but they haven't yet accepted/participated in the incentive I've offered.**

**Shout outs to: SpanishGallagherGirl, violets-are-violet, stephaniek, writingnow, Lizaluvsdoggies, Posideon, and Pianist707 for making me laugh so hard and being so much fun to chat with. Some of you are like sisters to me(: They're also fantastic writers, so check them out!**

**On with it, Mary Katherine! Enough babbling. Here it is(:**

Zach POV

Driving back from Gallagher was really difficult. Her parents were distraught as I had guessed.

I turned the radio up even louder so I couldn't think. Thinking meant thinking about Cammie and Riley. I couldn't afford that right now. I couldn't afford to break down.

I just barely heard my phone ring through the music blaring from my speakers. Glancing at the lit up scream, my hand turned the volume knob down and I pressed the answer button.

"Yes?"

"Zach! It's Grant!"

"I _do _have caller ID."

"Oh, right! Well, we have some information!"

I waited to hear what he had to say, but there was just silence.

"Yes?" I prompted.

"Oh! It's about Cammie and Riley." Hearing their name sent a ripple of pain through my body, but I ignored it.

I sighed in frustration when he didn't offer more details. "Put Liz on the phone."

"Fine."

I waited a second and heard the phone being transferred.

Liz sounded breathless when she said, "Hey, Zach."

"Liz."

"We found a location."

The news hit me like a blow to the chest. I was the one who was breathless now. Once I got passed the stunned stage, euphoria swept through my body before the worry came back and I sent of volley of questions at Liz.

"Where is she? Is she okay? Who took her? What's the security like? Is Riley okay? Are they together? Are they a-ali-" I couldn't get the rest of the sentence out.

"Calm down, Zach. Are far are you?"

"Three minutes and twenty-nine seconds with no interfering variables."

"I'll tell you everything when you get here, then."

The line went dead, and I pressed my foot even harder to the gas pedal.

* * *

As soon as I walked in, Liz started explaining, "Whoever took her is good, but they just aren't good enough for us. The police would never have found anything, but they were sloppy to be dealing with CIA agents. When I found Cammie's phone, I used the street cameras to track her to her present location. It took some digging because they weren't so sloppy as to ignore them, but the real footage was accessible when Jonas and I tried some different techniques. We couldn't see faces or identify them to any organizations."

The amount of information we had astounded me. Why were we still standing here? "What the heck are we waiting for, then? We know where they are! Why don't we go get them back?"

"Well, we have more footage then just their capture. We have footage from the location where they're being held. They're under constant 24-hour surveillance."

"And? That just makes our job easier."

"No, it doesn't. It seems that they're under some… peculiar conditions."

The way she said it caused fear to invade my body. My voice was strangled when I asked my next question, "Are they okay?"

"They're fine. Actually, for hostages, they're well off."

Relief filled my body. I could breathe again.

"What's the problem then?"

"Like I said before, this situation is very dif-"

I couldn't take it anymore. I cut her off, "Cut to the chase already, Liz."

"I don't even know where to begin. Just come look, I guess."

I nodded and followed her over to where everyone was. They were crowding around a laptop looking at something. They all stepped back and I leaned over to stare at the screen.

Cammie was there. Riley was there. They were… in our home? Playing Monopoly, I think. There was someone else there, too. Josh.

"What the heck?"

"We don't know why he's there," Macey said.

I looked at Cammie. I trusted her. I couldn't imagine her being a part of this. I ruled out any possibilities that she had been cheating on me and staged this so she could be with Josh. I knew her better than that.

"Is he behind this?" I asked.

Bex shook her head, "It doesn't look like it."

Jonas piped in, "We can't be sure of much. While we could get past street cameras old footage, these cameras don't save their footage. They're strictly live. We hacked into the system, but we can't do anything to recover old information."

"So, we know where she is. We know her environment. We even know the security measures," I gestured towards the blueprints and papers sitting on the desk. "What's the problem?"

Everyone let out a collected sigh, and Liz leaned over me to zoom in on something. It was Cammie's wrist.

Pointing to the bracelet Cammie was wearing, Liz whispered, "_That_ is the problem."

"A bracelet?" My mind refused to put the pieces together. I knew it was probably more than just a bracelet, but I didn't want to draw conclusions before there was no denying it.

"More like an electric collar."

The color drained from my face.

"From what we can tell, the bracelet causes an electric shock to go through the wearer's body not unlike a dog wearing an electric collar that goes beyond the fence's boundaries. It's a low voltage, but it's adjustable. It can go extremely high or be so low that it wouldn't be noticeable."

"And, Riley?"

Grant cleared his throat and avoided my eyes when he answered, "He has one, too."

Bex jumped in and relieved some of my fear when she said, "They haven't even activated his, though."

I nodded in relief, but that quickly faded when she answered the question in my eyes, "Cammie's has been though. They… They've used it."

I don't know what sound came out of my throat. It sounded a little bit like a koala drowning.

After a few minutes, I continued my interrogation, "How do you know this?"

"We can track the signals that come from it. We can't hack or interfere in them in anyway, though." It was almost an afterthought what she said next. It was as if she thought that if she said it enough and with enough hope, it would be willed into existence. "Yet," she added.

"So that's the problem. We can't make any moves without the chance of them turning the voltage up. They have way too much power."

Macey mumbled something that sounded like, "Exactly."

Jonas said, "We _might_ be able to find a way to turn it off. There are no guarantees, and it will take a long time. A few days most likely."

Liz looked crushed, but she wasn't going to B.S. me, "Even then, we may have to put a backup plan in place."

I closed my eyes. "Okay. Is there anything I can do?"

"Not right now. You can watch her though. That would be helpful. Any information is extremely valuable."

I took a deep breath and nodded before opening my eyes, "Okay."

"A few last things. We don't know who's behind this yet. They're sloppy in some areas, but in others, they've got things covered. Also, the good news is that it doesn't seem that the main purpose is to inflict pain on either one of them. They're relatively safe."

"Okay," I repeated. "Is there audio?"

Jonas answered, "No, there's not. But, I have a program running that should be getting it for me soon."

Before Liz left, she pointed to an area of the screen and told me that it would indicate if someone was shocked and which line referred to whom. She explained a few other technical aspects that would be helpful and left the room to work on getting control of the electric frequencies.

Everyone patted me on the shoulder, rubbed my arm, or murmured words of encouragement before they left me alone with the laptop and time to think.

I sat back and let my eyes become glued to the screen, hungry to see the people I love more than anything in the world.

**(This moment is the scene Zach referenced earlier in the chapter).**

Cammie POV

We were playing Monopoly with Riley, and I tried to get a conversation going. It was still a little awkward between Josh and I when we weren't protecting Riley.

"How has life been, Josh?" I asked.

"It hasn't been awful. It's been decent, I suppose. DeeDee and I got back together for a little while after your wedding."

At his words, I felt the shock that ran through my body and realized it was becoming a little too familiar. Other than the tensing of our body and the way our breathing changed, we didn't let it show. We didn't want Riley to know what was going on.

Shooting each other a look, I mouthed to him, "Obviously that's a taboo subject."

Thankfully he could read lips fairly well, and he nodded back.

"It was working out a little better than before, but then... DeeDee's parents were involved in a really awful and fatal car accident."

Riley nudged my arm telling me it was my turn. I rolled the dice and landed a seven. I moved the top hat and landed on an unsold property. We kept the game going and interacted with Riley,

In between rolls, he continued, "The police investigated. It was a somewhat suspicious situation, but they didn't find anything."

"Oh my gosh! How did DeeDee handle it?"

"Not well. It was just an awful situation. She was completely heartbroken and distraught. You can't blame her. She was really close to them. It hit her hard. Really, _really_, hard."

He looked down ashamed and his voice was a little quieter when he went on, "It didn't really help when she found out I had been cheating on her."

"What?" I fumed. I glared at him and lifted my hand to slap his cheek, but before my hand made contact, Riley started jumping up and down.

I looked at the board saw he had rolled a ten with double fives. He had landed on the spot he'd been trying to get to for the past six rolls.

He broke out in a little jig that only a four-year old could make look adorable and shouted, "**Victory Dance!**"** (Posideon was by special 80****th**** reviewer(: This line is what she told me to put into the chapter!)**

I laughed at the silly expression on his face as he wiggled his body around.

"You're such a fantastic dancer, Riley! Goodness gracious. The girls will be chasing after you, won't they?"

"Yupp, Mommy! They can't resist these _Goodes_." Then it happened. He smirked.

I can't believe Zach missed this. He's going to be so upset he did.

For just a second I was stunned at the mini-Zach in front of me. Part of me was groaning and rolling my eyes, but the other part, the larger part, swelled with pride and joy and love.

That all disappeared though, when I saw a light on the bracelet blink once before my son fell to the floor.

**Never hesitate to offer suggestions for me! Or to critique my writing.**

**I love y'all! Review, please?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Important: I'll do my best, but there's a big chance I won't be able to do my weekday update next week. Cheerleading tryouts are every day, and on top of that, I'm somehow supposed to be in about 3 or 4 or even 5 places at once on more than one of those days and still get my homework done. I'll definitely update on Saturday, though. Bear with me, guys. I'll do my best, but no promises!**

**Also, as always, HUGE thanks to every single reader and reviewer. I can't thank you enough.**

**Thanks to violets-are-violet for being the best beta anyone could ask for. Thanks for being an awesome friend as well. Y'all, too, Posideon, writingnow, and SpanishGallagherGirl (If I missed you, sooo sorry! I'm super tired!)**

**Also, how many more chapters would y'all like there to be? I mean, do you want twist after twist or do you want me to get them saved and then have a twist or just get them saved and be done with it?**

**On with the chapter! Hope you enjoy it.**

Zach POV

I watched the footage as if my life depended on it, completely engulfed in finally getting to see Cammie and Riley even if it was over a computer screen. It was nearing an entire week that they had been gone.

I could only catch tidbits of what they were saying by reading their lips. The camera angle could make it really difficult to see, but I was doing my best. Hopefully we would have audio soon.

I saw Josh mention something about a wedding. At that, the indicators on the side of the screen heightened for Josh and Cammie. Realizing what it meant, I thought I would be sick. I swallowed back the bile rising from my throat and clenched my fists, but I continued to watch.

Cammie and Josh glanced at Riley and then at each other and played it off. For that, I was thankful to Josh.

Josh filled Cammie in on what had been going on in his life. Something about DeeDee and her parents. He mentioned something about cheating.

_Really? _I asked myself._ You're playing Monopoly with a four-year old and you're cheating? That's low._

I saw Cammie's face fill with fury, but then Riley burst into some four-year old jig. I laughed at him and saw Cammie beam at him. Longing shot through me to hold them in my arms.

Riley nodded at whatever Cammie had said, and then I saw him say, "They can't resist these _Goodes_."

At that, I let out a rumbling laugh filled with pride. My smile grew to cover my whole face when I saw him smirk. I couldn't believe I wasn't there.

Then, my whole body tensed as he fell to the floor and I was again alerted by the indicators that someone had been shocked. I stopped breathing when I saw who the recipient was this time. Riley.

I must have screamed. Everyone ran into the room asking what had happened.

"They shocked Riley." The anguish in my voice didn't even compare to the anguish in my heart.

Cammie POV

"Riley? Riley!" Tears streamed down my face and I rushed to his side and held him in my arms smoothing his hair down.

He was crying from the shock from the electricity as well as the surprise. "Mommy? What was that?"

"Oh, honey…."

He buried his head in my hair.

I patted his back and tried to console him, muttering anything I could to try and make it okay.

But I couldn't.

Eventually he fell asleep although he would let out a little hiccup every now and then from crying. I put him in his bed and tucked him in.

I barely held in the sobs that were threatening to wrack my body, but I didn't want to wake him up. Leaving the door open, I crept out of the room into my own.

Once there, I cracked. I completely broke apart. I sobbed and cried and screamed and could barely breathe. I couldn't take it. The one thing that had been keeping me together was Riley's safety. Even that was no longer a guarantee. But it never had been.

I cried for a long time. Just sitting on the bed hugging a pillow and collecting my thoughts and crying for the situation. I let out one last sob before mumbling out, "I love and miss you, Zach. Hurry up."

Then I was shocked back to reality. Quite literally, actually. The electricity swept through my body, and I just barely noticed that the intensity had increased. I cried out quietly in pain.

"Great," I muttered.

I went over to the dresser and tried to be presentable before Riley woke up. Brushing through my hair and fixing my makeup and wrinkly shirt, I walked out.

Josh was sitting on the couch. When I walked in, he glanced up with worry.

"I figured you wanted to be alone for a little bit. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. As fine as I can be," I corrected. "How's Riley?"

"Still sound asleep."

"I can't believe that happened." My voice caught on my words.

He closed his eyes, leaned back, and said, "Me neither. He's an amazing little kid."

I smiled. "He really is."

He paused before asking, "What are we going to do?"

I had thought about it. I trusted Zach and my friends. I knew they were doing everything they could right now. I had also considered Riley. He was always my first priority. We were still relatively safe. There seemed to be more to everything than just inflicting pain.

It was obviously a form of punishment, not torture. We would be okay; we just had to be careful.

"Nothing," I answered. "We're going to be perfect hostages. We'll do everything we're told and just keep hoping."

He nodded in agreement, "What about Riley?"

"Maybe we can strike a deal somehow… I don't really know." This was the hardest part. If we told Riley, he would know what not to do and be safe, but he would know the danger we were in. "I want to keep him in the dark," I told him. "But that could be dangerous if he doesn't know what he shouldn't do to avoid getting hurt."

The walls lit up.

"Embrace your roles and maybe the boy won't suffer from the consequences of his actions."

Reading it, I knew what we had to do. We had to protect Riley. No matter what. Even if that meant being the perfect 'wife' to someone I didn't love.

Zach POV

My stomach churned. Hatred consumed for whoever was doing this to my son. He was so small and innocent. I closed my eyes and realized that there was some hatred for myself, too. What was I thinking? Cammie was right. Having children and being a spy is a dangerous thing to do.

I didn't regret Riley. I would never regret him. He and Cammie were the most important parts of my world. They lit it up, setting it ablaze with brilliance and beauty. With them gone, the dark void was just that more noticeable.

Did I regret being a spy? I couldn't honestly answer no. It brought a lot of horrible things. I loved it, though.

I hated myself for not being there to protect them. I've saved thousands of lives, but I couldn't even keep my own family out of danger's grasp.

I opened my eyes again because I realized that they were already gone. Now I needed to focus on getting them back. Right now I could do that by trying to gain information through watching them.

Cammie was holding Riley, comforting him and keeping him calm. When he fell asleep, she put him in bed and went to our bedroom. Or a replica of it.

My entire being shattered when I saw her fall to pieces. I wanted to hold her in my arms and wipe the tears away. I wanted to be there to be strong for her and be her rock.

For nearly an hour I watched her sob on the bed, try to pull herself together and fail. Tears fell from my face onto my shirt, but I didn't attempt to control them.

The audio finally switched on just in time to hear her say, "I love and miss you, Zach. Hurry up."

Ha. Zachary Goode no longer just had tears falling from his face. I was now full out crying. I cried even harder when I saw the indicator rise again even higher than it had previously and heard her sound of pain.

I pulled myself together and carried the laptop with me to the room where Liz and Jonas were working on getting control of the bracelets.

"We need to move faster," I commanded. "This isn't working. Whoever is doing this? They're getting more confident. They're increasing the level of intensity."

Liz sighed, "We know." She pointed to another laptop playing the footage and another focused fully on recording the electric devices.

Bex, Grant, and Macey burst into the room with their own laptop. They must have been watching in a separate room.

"We need a plan. Now," Bex growled.

"Well, we're making improvements," Jonas said.

"We're a lot closer. We've found several loopholes we didn't think would be there."

I glared at them. "How close are you?"

"We can have full control in forty-eight hours."

Compared to what we had thought before, it was a huge improvement. I was about to thank them, but something new came on the screen that hadn't happened before.

The walls of the room lit up. Josh and Cammie didn't look surprised. It must have happened before. They looked at them expectantly.

We all read the words that were now flashing, "Embrace your roles and maybe the boy won't suffer from the consequences of his actions."

"What the heck does that mean?" Macey asked.

I asked my own question, "What roles?"

Bex threw in the question that combined them all. "What is this?"

**What do y'all think? Do you like how I do something in Cammie's POV and then the same thing in Zach's as he watches it? Or do y'all get sick of reading the same thing over and over?**

**Review and let me know! I'll do my best to update **_**really**_** soon, but I apologize in advance if I can't!**

**I love y'all(:**

**-Mary Katherine(:**


	7. Chapter 7

**I had really hoped I would be able to get an update in before now, but that just hadn't been the case. I cried almost every day from stress this past week. Sorry, guys! I did give y'all the heads up, though, so hopefully y'all aren't too upset(: Tryouts went pretty well, if y'all were wondering!**

**I'll keep this AN short and the chapter long (longest yet!). Thanks for the reviews and everyone's support(: Thanks to violets-are-violet for being such a fantastic Beta(:**

**This story is close to wrapping up unless I throw another twist in. We'll see where it goes. I'm not quite sure yet what's going to happen.**

**I hope y'all love it! Enjoy(:**

Zach POV

After that first announcement we saw, we all sat there in our own varying states of frustration, anger, hurt, pain, loss, and worry.

The new information had us all confused and threw the carefully placed facades we had all put into place into a momentary panic.

When we couldn't put together any conclusions from the facts we had, Bex finally spoke up, "It's not going to help to sit here. Liz and Jonas, get back to work on the bracelets. Grant and I will go through the security and blueprints again so that when Liz and Jonas have finished their part, we have a flawless plan. Zach, Macey, and Nick, you can keep watching the videos."

Breaking apart like a football team from a huddle that just lost the championship game, we all retreated to our various activities.

I grabbed the laptop again before retreating to the guest room and shutting the door. I sunk onto the bed and drank in every bit of Cammie and Riley I could through the video footage.

Cammie POV

The words we had read kept running through my head like a mantra. Repeating over and over. _Embrace your roles and maybe the boy won't suffer from the consequences of his actions._

Josh kept giving me glances, and I knew that he understood. I knew that he was completely willing to do whatever it may take to keep Riley safe.

It was about forty-five minutes before Riley woke up. I heard him sniffle from his bedroom and rushed through the door so I could be there as soon as he opened his eyes.

His fists were rubbing his eyes, and I came and sat on the bed. I took him in my arms and brushed his hair back, "Hey, honey. How are you?"

He sniffed again before he answered me, "Okay. Mommy, what happened?"

I hated not being able to give him the answers he needed, but I knew it was probably for the best. I changed the subject and gave him a look that I hoped he would understand despite his age.

"Why don't we bake some chocolate chip cookies, Riley?"

His eyes lit up, "With sprinkles, too?"

I chuckled at his innocence despite the dark atmosphere that hung around us. "Yes, silly. With sprinkles, too!" I tapped him on the nose and swung him around by the arms before waltzing out the bedroom door with him giggling against my chest.

I set Riley on the counter in the kitchen and started flipping through cookbooks to find the recipe.

"Josh," I called. "It's time for cookies!"

I heard him get up from the couch, and he came from around the corner.

Seeing Riley smiling and okay, he grinned and said, "Time for cookies? That means it's time for the… _cookie monster!_" He ran towards a squealing Riley and tickled him all over.

* * *

The cookies had just finished cooling and we were all frosting them having a fantastic time. It had been really fun despite our situation.

Riley was concentrating really hard on getting the sprinkles in just the right place. He was forming an impressive looking racecar with them.

He frowned at the picture and then glanced up at me, "Mommy, what colors do we have?"

"Every color you could possibly imagine! What do you want?"

"Green. Like Daddy's eyes," he proclaimed with pride.

My whole body immediately tensed. Josh had blue eyes. They wouldn't let this slide either. _Play the role, _I thought to myself. _Be in love with Josh_.

I took on a flirtatious tone that made me sick, but I didn't discard it as I said, "Oh, really? Well, what if we used purple frosting to do… _this!_" I leapt towards Josh and smeared the frosting all over his face.

Josh caught on quick to what I was doing, and he responded by trying to grab my wrist, but I ran away from his grasp.

Riley watched us, laughing, and I sighed in relief. He was safe. I, on the other hand, felt the shock run through my body. I was more than happy to take Riley's punishment, though.

But something had changed. It wasn't just one shock this time. I felt the one, which was a little more intense than the last time. Then a second, even higher. A third broke the second's record once again.

It was in this moment that a thought I had been keeping held back resurfaced to the forefront of my mind once again. Regret washed through my body that I hadn't been able to tell Zach before we were captured. Worry cascaded into every inch of my being about the effects these shocks could have. I had ignored it until now, keeping Riley as my very first priority. I couldn't afford to think about this new priority. I forced the thoughts back, and I forced a smile upon my face.

Back to reality, I dodged Josh again who now had blue frosting prepared to ruin my hair. Josh gave up on trying to catch me and turned towards Riley.

Riley's eyes grew wide, and he grabbed a handful of yellow frosting. Josh lunged towards Riley and caught him around the waist. He rubbed the blue all over his arm, but Riley retaliated by shoving the yellow in Josh's face and even up his nose.

"Oh, buddy. You shouldn't have gone there!" Josh laughed, and it wasn't long before a full-on war had begun.

Zach POV

Riley was okay. He didn't seem to have any lasting drama. I laughed and smiled when they baked cookies together. It was nice seeing them being carefree and fun.

Until I heard Riley mention me, and my heart filled with love, but I noticed the way Cam stiffened, and I did, too.

My heart almost broke when I saw her tease Josh. She looked so convincing, but I knew better. The way the electricity indicators rose only confirmed that. Then, to my astonishment, they rose again and again, getting higher each time.

I was worried about Cam. What effects would this have on her health? My fists clenched, but they relaxed some as the three threw frosting at each other.

I laughed when Riley grabbed a container of sprinkles and, removing the lid, dumped it onto his mom's head. He grinned in triumph and ran to hide behind Josh.

My eyes turned green with envy. It should've been me having that moment with Riley and Cam, but it wasn't. It was the _boy _who had broken my Gallagher Girl's heart back in sophomore year. The _boy _who tried to ruin our wedding by claiming I had cheated.

But, he was also the boy who was now helping protect my son and wife.

The war had finally calmed down, and everyone was catching their breath.

Cammie looked around at the mess, and I knew how much she hated cleaning. She was probably already dreading it.

Josh laughed at her tortured expression. "Why don't we eat some of these delicious cookies, and then I will clean up this mess for you, Cam? You could give Riley a bath in the meantime."

She looked at him, grateful. "That's a great idea. Thanks, Josh."

The walls lit up again.

"It never hurts to say thank you with a kiss."

Reading the words, I was confused out of my mind. What did it mean? Anxious, I didn't even blink as I waited to see how Cammie would respond.

Cammie looked at the words around her with reluctance. She stole a glance at Riley, and it looked like she made a decision about something.

She walked over to Josh. If I hadn't been her husband and knew her like I did, I wouldn't have noticed the way she slightly dragged her feet. She'd always been an amazing actress.

She wrapped his arms around him in a hug. "Thanks, Josh," she whispered. She went onto the balls of her feet and kissed his cheek.

The indicators went crazy again. Higher, but just twice this time.

Her hands formed fists behind Josh's back, and I saw her face contort just slightly in pain. Pain rocked through my own body. I hated seeing her get hurt. The pain only intensified when she pressed her lips to his for about ten seconds, pulling away slowly.

I should've felt betrayed. I didn't. How could I when she looked so disgusted with herself? I wanted to hold her in my arms and let her know that I understood. That, as much as I hated seeing her kiss anyone buy myself, it was okay.

She looked away from Josh, and I saw her eyes fill with tears. It was only half a second before she snapped out of it.

She threw a dazzling smile at Josh and grabbed Riley's hand, "I'll give him that bath now."

I saw Josh nod before I heard a knock on the door.

"Yes?" I called.

"Can we come in?" Grant asked.

I cleared my throat, "Sure."

They opened the door, hesitantly.

Grant looked worried for me when he asked, "How are you doing, man?"

I glared at them, "I'm fine. My wife just kissed her ex and has been shocked five times in the past ten minutes, but I'm doing so well I could be at the carnival with a corn dog in my hand."

"We're all worried, you know," Bex snapped.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "I know. I'm just ready to get them out of there."

Her eyes lit up, "We all are. And, the plan is perfect."

She went into an explanation of the plan. I realized she was right. It was perfect and nearly foolproof. Cammie and Riley's captors were seriously lacking in security. If it had been a normal mission, it would have been given to the newbies. It was that simple.

Bex looked proud and hopeful as she wrapped up the details. She smiled and said, "Now we're just waiting on Liz and Jonas."

Macey and Nick had joined us by now, and Macey said she had just gone to their room before she came here. "They're getting closer. They're almost there," she assured us.

"Well, this is starting to look like this just might turn out to be an aster," Grant exclaimed.

"A what?" Nick asked.

"An aster. Opposite of disaster?" He looked at our confused faces, incredulously. He sighed in frustration when none of us understood. "You know, like 'like' and 'dislike?'" **(Fairfarren-Silvermist Fawn gave me this idea because she was the 140****th**** reviewer(: )**

Bex patted his cheek and laughed, "Oh, honey. It doesn't work like that."

"Sure it does," Grant argued.

"It does not."

"Does too."

"Does not."

"Does-"

Before Grant could finish, he was interrupted by a scream coming from the computer.

Horrified expressions were on everyone's face, and we all looked at the screen to see what had happened. Josh was holding Cammie up, who had passed out, and Riley was crying.

Bex looked like she was going to be sick, and her voice broke as she said, "Guys, look at the last report from the indicator."

It had nearly doubled since the first one we saw.

"What happened?" I demanded.

"Liz!" Macey screamed.

We all waited, watching the screen as Josh tried to get Cammie to wake up while keeping Riley calm at the same time.

Liz ran into the room, "We saw."

"What happened?" I repeated.

"I'll explain that later. What's more important is that we did it."

"You've got control?"

She nodded in excitement. "The repeated signals and their increasing strength made it easier to understand them and get the information we needed."

We all flinched when Cammie screamed again.

"Turn it off, then," I nearly yelled.

"We can't until the last second. They'll know something is up, and there's no way to predict their response."

It made sense of course, but hearing and seeing Cammie in pain warped my sense of reason.

They were getting more confident, and we all realized it as the indicators went crazy again. We were running of time. Determination struck us all, and I announced with confidence, "Let's do it."

**So, maybe listening First of the Year (Equinox) isn't the best idea when I'm writing. Haha(:**

**Oh! I realize there's a paragraph in there of Cammie's where it's really confusing and vague. It's meant to be, though(:**

**Loved it? Hated it? Review, please!**

**Love y'all(:**

**-Mary Katherine(:**


	8. Chapter 8

**This is going to be awful and semi-short. I'm sorry, guys! I've been trying to force myself to write because I really want to, but I'm suffering from some major writer's block. I'll do my _BEST_ to do TWO weekday updates this week since this is just not up to my standards (or what I like to think they are).**

**I changed my penname just a little(: Just a heads up! Instead of just maryclumsy, it's maryclumsykatherine since that's my full name and what I go by(: Ignoring the clumsy part…**

**Thanks to all of my reviewers(: Y'all rock! Shout-outs in the next chapter to all of my fantastic friends(:**

**Ready? Here it is. We're gonna find out what Cam did! Y'all ready?**

Cammie POV

"Enough splashing, Riley!"

Riley tried to look abashed, but that only lasted for about two seconds before he burst into a fit of giggles.

The stern expression dropped from my face, and I laughed with him. Scooping my hand in the tub filled with bubbles, I brought it to my lips and leaned forward. The bubbles flew from my hand right into his face when I blew on them.

Before he could start splashing again, I pulled the plug to drain the water and lifted him out. Wrapping a big white fluffy towel around him, I held him like I did when he was a newborn, and we made our way to the bedroom to grab some clothes.

Once he was adorned in his favorite dinosaur t-shirt, we raced to the kitchen to grab some cookies.

We were sitting at the table in silence, our mouths filled with peanut butter cookie heaven.

Riley took on an inquisitive look and tilted his head to the side. "Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"If peanut butter cookies are made from peanut butter, then what are girl scout cookies made from?" **(Thanks SonnySky13 for coming up with this line! I know I'm cracking up!) **A mischievous smile lit up his face, and his eyes twinkled.

We both burst into laughter again, and I couldn't help but wish Zach were here to share this moment with us. Riley is just like him, especially now that he's been smirking. I tried to convince myself to stop thinking about Zach. I knew he was doing everything he could to have Riley and me back again.

But, _Zach_. Even just the thought of him was like water rushing down your throat when you're completely parched after a marathon. It's refreshing. It's revitalizing. It's bliss. It's everything good in the world.

So, I stopped trying to keep him from my thoughts. What danger could they have? They were _thoughts_. Completely harmless.

Now, looking back, I can't help but wonder if they had an impact on what happened next. Maybe I let my guard down a little too much and felt a little too homesick.

Josh had brought me Riley and I a cup of a hot chocolate to go with the cookies, and, somewhere along the way, we'd gotten into an argument over the_ amazingness_ of coffee versus hot chocolate.

Obviously coffee wins hands down every time. It's a no brainer, right?

It's started with some casual teasing, but soon, it was a full-fledged, heated debate. **(This is for you, Posideon)**

"Josh. I'm _telling _you that coffee is what runs our lives. _Not_ hot chocolate. It's coffee that over half of the American population drinks on a daily basis! Three hundred thirty million cups a day are swallowed with blissful pleasure by the good citizens of the USA."

He countered my statistics with his own statement, "Hot chocolate is good for cold rainy nights or snuggling next to the fireplace, though. It's a much more heartwarming and romantic drink than coffee."

I don't know if it was just the stress getting to me, or my irritation that it was Josh that was here with me and not Zach, but I snapped. "You would be one to know about romance, wouldn't you? Cuddling next to some tramp knowing full well you were cheating!"

"She was not a tramp!"

"You're probably right. That would be you," I spit the words with venom.

His eyes blazed with fury when he said, "She was better to me than you ever were. You lied to me and made me a fool. I stood up for you only to learn that you were no better than some stuck-up snob living on Daddy's money. Oh, wait. Your dad is _dead_."

I immediately felt the sting of his words and responded with my own, "For your information, my father is not dead. He's alive and well. I can't believe I ever even thought there was a decision to be made between you and Zach. _He _loves me, and guess what? I love him back. Never will it be you, Josh. You lying, cheating, manipulative-"

I was cut off by my own scream. Pain shot through my body like a million needles attacking me. The pain was blinding. I thought I would shatter.

I gave into the darkness pressing around me, no longer willing to fight it, and sank to the floor.

* * *

When I woke, Riley was asleep on the couch next to Josh who was staring at me with worry written all over his face.

"Oh my gosh! Cam, you're awake. Thank God."

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"An hour or so, I would think."

"How's Riley?"

"Terrified. Physically, though? He's okay."

I breathed in relief.

Josh looked at the floor and back up at me before his eyes flitted to study the carpet again. "Cam, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so angry."

Sighing, I closed my eyes and forced myself to remember to keep breathing. "Yeah, well, I got pretty angry myself. I shouldn't have said what I said."

He smiled a little and looked back at me. "If it counts for anything, you made a very convincing argument. I'm now the world's second biggest coffee supporter, right next to you." He held up his mug in proof.

I rolled my eyes and laughed, throwing my head back. "I knew you'd come around. I really didn't want to have to check you into the asylum. Nice to know your sanity has returned."

He chuckled under his breath, but then the worry returned to his face, and the words fell from his lips like a waterfall, "Are you okay? You scared us to death. Are you hurting?"

I assured him I was fine. I was just sore and tired with a slight headache.

"Anything happen while I was unconscious?" I asked.

He looked a little nervous and uncomfortable, but he answered my question, "We received another message. It 'suggested' we be kinder to one other and offered some… techniques for reconciling."

"Oh, really?"

He nodded.

"Like?" I prompted, drawing out the 'i.'

"Kissing. Hugging. Romantic dinners. Et cetera."

I let out a quick, "Oh."

Silence fell on the room, and we stared at each other a little awkwardly.

"Well… Um... I think I'll just head to bed, then," I announced.

"You haven't even had dinner," he pointed out.

"I'm not very hungry."

He gave me a disparaging look but let it slide. "I'll see you in the morning, then. I'll put Riley in his bed for you."

"Thanks, Josh."

Heading to the master bedroom, I slipped into pajamas and underneath the comforter. I closed my eyes, but my mind refused to slow down and allow me to slip into dreamland.

An hour or so later, when I felt the bed dip under Josh's weight on the other side of me, I couldn't help the single tear that slid down my cheek because it wasn't Zach.

Zach POV

We hadn't eaten in nearly twenty-four hours, and we knew better than to carry out a mission on an empty stomach no matter how seemingly simple it may be.

While Bex, Grant, Macey, and Nick drove to the nearest Zaxby's to grab some food for everyone, I sat watching the screen like it was a drug, and I was addicted.

Cam was still unconscious, and Riley was asleep, so I let my attention drift. After the latest shock, I couldn't help but wonder the physical side effects it could have.

Liz and Jonas were in the room with me tapping away on their laptops trying to get an even better grasp on the electricity situation.

"Liz?" I ventured.

Hearing my tone, she closed her laptop and gave me her full attention. "Yes?"

"What," I couldn't seem to get the words out. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and started again, "What effects do these shocks have on a person?"

She nodded in understanding and sympathy, reaching out to pat my shoulder. "Riley will be fine. His one shock was extremely low, and it's just one anyway. He has anything to worry about. Josh…"

She trailed off, gave me a knowing smile, and said, "Well, I get the feeling you don't really care about his state."

I laughed in confirmation before I remembered who was coming next and braced myself.

"Cammie has been given the worst end of the stick. She's received the strongest and most frequent shocks. She's a healthy girl, so that helps. If she were pregnant or anything of the sort that would affect her health even without the shocks, then there may have been something to be concerned about. That's nothing to worry about, though. There's a chance of memory loss, though. With repeated electricity currents running through the body, that's been known to happen. There will be consequences, I'm sure, but nothing major. There's never any guarantees, Zach, but I think you can relax. As much as you can, anyway."

And I did. To an extent. It was one huge worry off my back. I muttered a thank you before I focused my attention back on the screen and my duty at hand. Getting my wife and son back home and safe.

A guy has to do what a guy has to do. And a Goode? Well, a Goode hasto do what Goodes do best ...rescue their Gallagher girl. **(Thanks Hopehot for this line!)**

Hearing the rest of the gang come through the front door with the food, I knew that the time had come to do exactly that.

**Meh. It sucked, I know. I don't even know what the heck this is. I may rewrite it. I'm not quite sure.**

**Also, I'm reading this book called **_**The Bell Jar**_** for my Lit. class (It's kind of… advanced and disturbing. Don't read it if you're young) about the mental breakdown of this woman. She's suicidal and eventually ends up in an asylum, but before she attempts to commit suicide, she is prescribed electrotherapy. I thought I'd share how she described it with y'all:**

**"Then something bent down and took hold of me and shook me like the end of the world. Whee-ee-ee-ee-ee, it shrilled, through an air crackling with blue light, and with each flash a great jolt drubbed me till I thought my bones would break and the sap fly out of me like a split plant."**

**I researched and it's nothing like that anymore, but it was interesting nonetheless, I guess(:**

**I was too ashamed to share this with my Beta, so I apologize for mistakes!**

**Review, please? Thanks, y'all(: Lots of love!**

**-Mary Katherine(:**


	9. Chapter 9

**So, I made Varsity Cheerleading(: Just if anyone was wondering. And, I'm saw The Avengers with a friend today. It was amazing. Hence the late update(:**

**Shout outs to my dearest friends : violets-are-violet, SpanishGallagherGirl, Posideon, writingnow, and ISpyANinjaAndItsMe**

**Thanks, as always, for the reviews(: SO close to 200! I'm overwhelmed! And, thanks even if you just read(:**

**Oh! I checked something off my bucket list this week. I didn't do a homework assignment (for Pre-Cal) for no other reason than I didn't want to. I'm proud(: I felt like such a rebel. Never doing it again, though! Of course, now I have to make it up this weekend….**

**On to the chapter? Yes? Yes(:**

Zach POV

"Let's review," Liz started. "We can't go in through the air vents because those are one area that is tight on security. They did well making sure Cammie can't get out. Getting inside, however, is a much easier task.

"In seven hours, a delivery of food is scheduled to be delivered in a big truck. We'll hide inside the truck in a sort of Trojan War strategy."

She pointed to the blueprints on were spread out on the table.

"Macey and Nick will go here. The control room. If something happens unexpectedly, we need someone here. There's a possibility that the 'mastermind' of the project will be there, too. That's what we're hoping for, of course. We still have no idea who's behind this.

"Zach, you're obviously going to go find Cammie and Riley. Bex and Grant will go with you." She looked back up at us and took a deep breath. "It should be a simple rescue plan."

* * *

"Grant, I love you dearly, but could you maybe _not dig your shoe into my hand_?" Bex hissed.

We were in the truck on our way to where Cammie and Riley were being held. We didn't have much space, and it was cramped. I'm sure the fact that everyone was really stressed and tense had a lot more to do with the threats Bex kept firing than anything else, though.

"Liz, you should really consider exfoliating on a daily basis," Macey rambled through the comms unit. "You have nearly flawless skin. With some proper treatment, those few blackheads you have will be gone."

I guess we all have our own ways of coping.

My managing method? I closed my eyes and imagined my favorite moments with Cammie and Riley.

There were quite a few, and every single one just strengthened my determination to get them back. I could almost feel them in my arms we were so close.

I was dwelling on the way Cam had been so adorably angry with me every time I was overprotective during her pregnancy and laughing at some of her particularly intense threats she had when I felt the car stop.

I opened my eyes again. We were in.

Jonas's voice came over the comms, "Cameras cleared. Infiltrate now."

* * *

Bex, Grant, and I were waiting on the go ahead from Macey and Nick before we moved on. We hid in a hallway that we had already taken down the guards in.

"Peacock? Do you copy?"

"I'm here, Duchess," Macey assured her.

Nick chimed in, "We're at the control room. Five people. We can take them. Proceed?"

"Napotine patches," I clarified. It was a simple mission. We weren't taking lives unless absolutely necessary.

We waited ten seconds and heard the slight thump of bodies falling to the ground before we heard Nick's voice again.

"None of these seem to have any authority. Whoever's in charge isn't here."

I couldn't help but feel just a little frustrated. I wanted to know who had done this. Whad caused my family and me so much pain and grief.

But that wasn't my priority right now, so I pushed the need for revenge aside and focused.

"We're clear?" Bex asked.

I could nearly feel the waves of excitement rolling off of Macey through the comms unit when she said, "Go rescue Cammie and Riley, you guys."

* * *

We made our way through the rest of the hallways, easily taking down anyone we saw before they could even react. They were trained, but it was basic. They didn't have anywhere near the level of expertise we did.

Finally we opened the last door separating us from the two people I loved more than anyone else in the world. I was so close. _They _were so close. I could feel the other half of my heart, the one Cammie had, yearning to be reunited with its counterpart. I could already fill my heart mending.

Walking through the house, I was shocked at its precise likeness to my home. They may not have been fighters, but they got the details right.

When we didn't find Riley and Cammie in the kitchen or the living room, I started to panic. I forced my breathing to stay calm as I opened the door to Riley's bedroom. Relief and happiness flooded my entire being at what I saw.

My son was sleeping in his bed. Next to him was my wife, my love, who looked like she'd accidently, drifted off after reading him a story. I chuckled softly at the way her mouth was open just barely.

I basked in the bliss I felt right then seeing them again. It took everything I had not to rush to them and strangle them in a hug.

But Cammie and Riley had both always been really heavy sleepers. I hated to wake them up, to disturb this serene moment. I could hear Josh snoring through the walls, though, and that kept me tied to reality.

I didn't even think about trying to the make the moment anything monumental by being cheesy. Even if I had, I wouldn't have attempted it. Anytime something involves waking Cammie up, there's no way to be cheesy or romantic.

I walked to the side of the room she was on and kissed her nose. She didn't even flinch. Sighing, I rolled my eyes and took the approach I knew I'd have to from the very beginning. I was going to have to be a little more forceful.

I kicked the rocking chair so that it started its swaying movement back and forth. Nothing.

I contemplated my options. I could shake her until she woke up, but that may take ages. I decided to be a little more direct.

Being extremely careful (I didn't want my wife getting hurt just when we've rescued her), I _gently_ flipped the chair over so that she was on the ground.

She hit the carpet with a thud, but I'd thrown a pillow there before I turned the chair over just to be safe. On the floor, she rolled over once before she opened one squinted eye and peered at me through her eyelashes.

A flash of joy spread across her face and she beamed up at me. Tears filled her eyes and threatened to spill over. "Zach!"

I winked at her with my trademark smirk plastered onto my face before I whispered, "Hey, Gallagher Girl."

She jumped up and ran into my arms. I crushed my lips to hers with one of the fiercest desires I've ever felt.

"I've missed you so much," I told her as soon as we broke apart.

She laughed and rolled her eyes before teasing me, "You're lucky I missed you, too, or you'd be a dead man for waking me up like that."

I kissed her again, and neither of us could stop smiling. Having Cammie back was like seeing the sun again after living without it for ten years. It was like sleeping on a floor for a month and then having a bed underneath you again.

I pulled her tight against me and stroked her hair. "Let's get out of here, eh?" I whispered.

She smiled even bigger and nodded at me. A touch of regret and sadness was in her eyes when she glanced at Riley and said, "He's missed you a lot, you know. He's been smirking."

I swelled with pride. "So I saw," I informed her.

She looked at me in confusion, but I just told her I'd explain later.

I pulled Riley off the bed and hugged him tight.

"Wake up, honey," Cammie said.

He groggily and slowly opened his eyes, but as soon as he saw me, they popped open.

He threw his arms around me and screamed in delight, "Daddy!"

At his reaction, Cammie panicked. Her eyes went wide, and I could tell she was just waiting for Riley to be shocked and hoping it would be her instead.

I smiled at her and rubbed my hand against her arm. "It's okay," I promised. "Liz and Jonas have it covered."

"Of course they do." She rolled her eyes, but I knew that the news comforted her more than anything else. Well, except me being there.

I ruffled her hair and Riley's at the same time, enjoying being back with them.

"Aw, Dad!" Riley complained. "I missed you and all, but I spent a lot of time getting my hair to look just perfect for the girls at school!"

I smirked at him with my cocky confidence and counted, "Son, girls won't be able to resist you no matter how your hair looks."

He returned my smirk. "_Goode _point," he emphasized.

"What have you done?" Cammie groaned.

Just then Bex stepped through the door, and I made a mental note of thanks to her for giving us our time to reunite before having her own.

"Bex!" Cammie ran to her, and they hugged each other tight. They were still sisters after all of this time. That would never change.

"Grant!" Cammie exclaimed when Grant made his appearance. They had grown to be really close, and he enveloped her in a huge bear hug.

"Can't… Breathe…" Cammie managed to get out.

We all laughed, and Grant half-heartedly apologized.

"We missed you." Bex went for another hug.

Cammie laughed and said, "I missed all of you, too. Let's get Josh and leave, okay?"

I crinkled my nose, "Oh yeah. Jimmy. Are you sure we have to get him, too?"

She just laughed and pulled on my arm to make me move. I wrapped my arm around Cammie's waist and held Riley on my waist as we carried out the final steps of the mission and the rescue.

"I think he was asleep, too," Cammie told us, leading us into the master bedroom.

But it was empty.

"I'm sure he's just getting some water or something… He probably just got thirsty," Cammie muttered under her breath.

I squeezed her against the side of my body to try and reassure her, and she melted into my side. Everything felt right in the world again at the way her body fit against mine.

When we stepped into the living room, we saw Josh standing there looking at something in the foyer.

"Josh?" Cammie asked, reaching out to touch his arm.

He didn't even register any of us. He kept staring at the door.

"What is it?" Cammie tried to move around me to see, but I held her back and looked for myself.

Josh hadn't been looking at something. He was looking at someone.

_The _someone. The someone that took my family away from me. The someone that sent currents of electricity through the body of a four year old and a young woman.

DeeDee.

**So, it sucked. I'm eternally sorry. I didn't want to update or put this out there or anything of the sort, but I…. I don't know. I said I'll update on Saturdays, and I would've felt awful if I didn't. Sorry. So so sorry.**

**I'm ashamed. Thoroughly ashamed.**

**Uggghhh! I'm so freakin' frustrated with this chapter. Y'all don't even know.**

**I have had the DeeDee thing planned for a while. It wasn't just a whim. There's a story, and there's a reason.**

**Thanks for reading! Please review! Have a great day and I love y'all(:**


	10. Chapter 10

Cammie POV

Zach was being his overprotective self and blocking me from whatever 'danger' might be at the door. Of course, danger was something that would always be present in our lives. We'd chosen it. That didn't mean I wasn't capable of handling myself.

But, sometimes, I won't deny that I loved that he was so protective and would do anything for me.

Now wasn't one of those times. I wanted to know who had done this to my son. I pushed him out of my way, and stepped around him to see the last person on earth I would have ever believed to be behind this.

"DeeDee? Is that you?" I asked.

Her face lit up into that perky smile that I had always associated with her. "Cammie!" She squealed.

Before I could make sense of it all, she was running towards me and enveloping me in a hug.

She pulled back and her face stretched tight into an even bigger smile. She was like some rabid pink bunny high on laughing gas.

"Oh, look at your son! He's so handsome," she cooed as she pinched his cheeks. Grant grabbed my arm before I could hurt her. "And all of your friends! I trust you are all well," she said as she sent smiles their way. She turned her attention back to me, "How have you been? Oh, silly me! I don't need you to answer that. I know you've been fantastic. Your family is so precious, and everything just seems perfect."

Zach and I looked at each other in confusion. Was she a part of this or simply caught up in something she wasn't aware of? She seemed so oblivious.

Zach pulled himself together before I did and a dazzling smile took precedence on his face as he confirmed her statement, "Cammie, Riley, and I have been great."

Her smile dropped, and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Her voice was a lot smaller when she spoke again, "You mean, Cammie, Riley, and _Josh_." She patted his shoulder like a mother would correct a child and reassure them so they wouldn't be offended.

Josh had finally broken out of his shocked state, and he spoke for the first time, "Cammie and I aren't together, DeeDee. You know that. Riley is Zach's son. Not mine."

The confidence on her face dropped at once, and she seemed to shrink right before our eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists, shaking her head back and forth. She whispered, "No, no, you have it mixed up."

"DeeDee? I think you should sit down, okay?" I suggested.

She shook her head once more before she opened her eyes. A smile instantly lit up her face. "Tea sounds nice, doesn't it?" She asked.

"I'll get it," Bex said, going off to the kitchen. I knew she was taking the opportunity to prepare for whatever circumstance might come our way.

I led DeeDee over to the couch, hoping to stall for Bex. We could just knock her out with a hit to the head and be done with it, but this was DeeDee. Perky little DeeDee who Josh had cheated on and whose parents had been deserved to be handled with gentleness.

I gave everyone a look that told them to let me handle this and for them to just sit back and be ready for anything.

"So, how have you been DeeDee?" The concern was evident in my voice. This was… _not _the DeeDee I knew.

"Oh! I've been fantastic!" She sang with sincerity.

I looked at her, stunned. "Really?"

She smiled and smoothed my hair down, "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I just… thought that with everything going on in your life lately, you might be struggling. You know, your parents and Josh and…" I trailed off as she looked more and more confused.

"What are you talking about? Everything's great! Everything's just like it's supposed to be. My family is happier than ever, and you and Josh are the perfect couple you were always meant to be."

I wish that I could have let her be happy, but a false happiness? The longer you continue in it, the harder it is when you're brought back to reality. I didn't want to cause her that pain.

I started with something that might be easier to swallow, saving her parents for last.

"DeeDee, Josh and I aren't a couple. Zach and I are married. Happily so. With a child." I poked Riley in the ribs, and he erupted into a fit of giggles.

When I looked back at her, I saw that her hand had started to twitch, and she closed her eyes again, whispering in denial.

I pulled her against me in an attempt to calm her. I rubbed her back and made reassuring noises, but she pulled away and pushed me backwards.

"You're wrong, Cammie," she hissed.

"No, DeeDee. I'm telling you the truth."

"You promise?" She asked the question with a child-like innocence and insecurity.

I looked straight into her eyes and replied with the most sincerity I could muster, "I promise."

She still didn't look entirely convinced, but she let it go, "I guess that's okay, then. You and Zach always were the _cuh-uuuu- test_ couple!"

I smiled and thanked her.

With a child's curiosity, she asked, "Does that mean Josh and I are together then?"

From the corner of my eye, I saw Josh hang his head in shame.

Giving DeeDee a comforting look, I explained, "Not exactly. Josh wasn't very good to you."

"But, if Josh and you aren't together, then he and I _must_ be." Her voice rang with conviction.

I tried to explain it in such a way that it made the break-up seem like a good thing. Something she controlled. "You deserve better, though, so you broke up," I said.

At my words, her face fell. "None of this is making any sense. I still think you're wrong, Cammie."

"No, DeeDee," I told her firmly.

She just looked at me in pity and shook her head.

By now my patience was running out, and I did something I sincerely regret. I snapped. "Listen, DeeDee. Zach is my husband. _Not_ Josh. Josh _cheated _on you. And your parents? They're dead." The second the words left my lips, I regretted them.

DeeDee's eyes filled with tears, but they quickly were only full of rage.

"Stop lying, Cammie! You're lying to me, and I don't appreciate it!" She screamed.

Zach started to step forward and soothe her, "Calm down, DeeDee, okay? We don't want anyone getting hurt."

Her expression sent fear through my body. It was more than angry. It was psychotic. She looked at Zach in disbelief before she resumed her screaming, "We don't? I think we do."

At that, she pressed a button on her wrist. I waited for the pain, but when none came, I remembered what Zach had told me. Jonas and Liz had taken care of it. She couldn't hurt me or Riley.

Seeing nothing had happened, Delly looked at us in surprise until understanding dawned on her face. "Your little techy friends must have disabled it, huh?" She let out an animalistic noise of frustration that I don't think I've ever heard before. Her face lit up as if a light bulb had just gone off.

Menace filled her voice when she directed her next question at Zach, "Did your friends know there were two?"

Zach's face drained of all color, and he looked at me in panic. "W-what?" He stammered.

Then everyone froze, waiting for someone else to make the first move. It wasn't until the air conditioner kicked on that everyone went into motion at once. I saw Bex come from the kitchen, sneaking up on DeeDee from behind with a needle and saw Josh and Zach coming at DeeDee from her sides. They weren't quick enough, though. Her finger pressed another button on her wrist.

I heard someone scream and felt pain worse than anything I had ever experienced. It was only when I realized I couldn't fill my lungs with air that I realized the scream was mine.

I saw Bex inject DeeDee with whatever she had made in the kitchen. DeeDee immediately fell to the floor, hitting her head on the coffee table.

I thought that the pain would go away once the threat had, but it continued. It didn't end, and neither did my screams.

Riley was crying in Bex's arms, and I tried to pull myself together for him, but the pain was blinding. Zach was shouting orders and pulling me into his arms. The light overhead made the tears on his cheeks sparkle; his beautiful face was the last thing I saw before the pain pulled me into unconsciousness.

**I know this is ****short. I apologize! I hope you like it anyway. I wanted to end it here because it would be awkward if I did it any other way.**

**And, even so, you have to admit that I've been doing really well with length lately, so I should get a little bit of leniency, right?**

**Also, I think I'll be wrapping this story up this weekend or one day next week. But, I'm going to try to this weekend! One last long chapter and a possible epilogue?**

**So, tell me your thoughts! Please(: I love y'all! Thanks for reviewing, as always(:**

**-Mary Katherine(:**


	11. Chapter 11

Cammie's POV

"Cammie? Sweetheart, please, please wake up."

My eyelids fluttered when I heard my name. I wanted to do nothing more than open them. I wanted nothing more than to have the anguish disappear from the voice of the one person who shares the title as the person I love most in the world. But, my eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, and I couldn't seem to make my body cooperate, and I succumbed to the darkness once again.

Zach POV

The ride to the hospital felt like an eternity. I held Cammie in my lap and a crying Riley was held against my side.

I tried to console Riley. I tried to get Cammie to wake up without scaring Riley too much. Liz told me it was useless; her body needed to rest, and she would be fine. I just told her to drive faster, and Bex threatened to take the wheel herself. To which I responded that we didn't need all of us in the hospital today.

When we arrived at the hospital, and they took Cammie away on a stretcher, I wanted to scream at them to let me come, and I did.

* * *

I woke up when I felt a hand smoothing my hair down. I looked up and Cammie was smiling at me.

"Cam! You're awake," I breathed.

"Now so are you, Mr. Sleepy Head. Your snoring woke me up."

We laughed together because we both knew Zachary Goode did _not _snore. You can tell how much I had improved since Cammie was back and safe. My cockiness had returned.

"How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad actually."

"They have some painkillers hooked up," I explained. "But, really, they're a very little dosage. You're going to be fine, Cam."

She smiled at me and put her hand to my cheek, "I know. How are _you?_"

I gave her a sad smile. "Better now that I have you. But don't worry about me. I'm worrying about and taking care of _you_," I said as I kissed her nose.

"Where's Riley?" She asked.

"Sitting with Bex, Liz and the crew. Bex promised to teach him some new move when we got home or something."

She rolled her eyes, "Oh gosh."

I just laughed, euphoric that she was recovering so well.

"You know what would make me feel better?"

"What's that, Gallagher Girl?" My hand was already reaching toward the button that called for a nurse.

"My mouth happens to be _very _sore. I'm sure a kiss would do me some good."

"Hmm… Well, I did see a hunky male nurse out there, but I'm not very comfortable with another man kissing my wife," I teased her.

She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could utter one word, my lips were on hers.

The kiss didn't last long because I really was worrying about her, and I didn't want to do anything that might affect her health. Even her puppy dog pout face couldn't convince me otherwise.

Okay. Well, _maybe _it did because when Liz walked in, she quickly threw her hands over her eyes, "Hey, Cam-Ah!"

We both laughed at her theatrics, and Cammie told her, "Liz! It's okay. We were just kissing."

Liz just sputtered and tried to get out a reason, but she could only manage something like, "Well… yeah! But!"

When Cammie and I managed to stop laughing, she glared at us indignantly before she said, "It's a good thing I came in here first! Imagine if Riley walked in on _that_. He's waiting outside to come see you, Cam."

"Send my boy in!" She smiled brightly and held her arms open.

Riley ran in and jumped into her arms, squealing, "Mommy!"

"Hey, baby boy!"

The smile that was on his face disappeared and it was replaced with a strict reprimanding one. "Mama, I am _not_ a baby."

Cammie facepalmed and pretended she'd made the biggest mistake ever. "You are so right. I just forget sometimes because you're so _adorable._"

Her hands flew out to Riley's stomach, tickling him. Riley's fits of giggles were like heaven's music to my ears, and I committed every detail of this moment to memory.

Cammie's eyes met mine, and her smile grew even bigger, if that's possible, when she saw my smile. Patting the space on the bed next to her, she said, "Come here, Daddy."

Riley's eyes widened, and he nodded his head furiously in agreement. I moved into the hospital bed with them and held them both in my arms.

My lips found Cammie's cheek, and Riley, who was used to our kisses, said, "I want to give Mama a kiss, too!" And he leant forward and pressed his wet lips to Cammie's other cheek.

"Aw, thank you, Riley!"

"I'm glad Mama's kissing Daddy now and not Josh."

And, like that, our moment of bliss was broken. I'm sure Cammie knew that we'd have to address what happened with Riley and explain it to him. I had been thinking about it while she was still asleep, and I was not looking forward to it.

I looked to Cammie to see if she wanted to explain this to Riley or if she wanted me to. She nodded at me, so I started.

"Riley, buddy. You know how we have talked about how some people in this world aren't as nice as others? And, that's why Mama and I both have to leave sometimes?"

He nodded at me seriously before proclaiming proudly, "You fight the bad guys!"

I ruffled his hair and continued, "That's right. Well, do you remember that lady that Mama talked to? The one in all of the pink?"

He wrinkled his nose in disgust, and I took that as a yes.

"She's one of your mom's old friends, but she had a rough patch, and she did some bad things that involved you and your mom. Sometimes your mom had to do things she didn't like to protect you. Can you understand that?"

He nodded again and grabbed Cammie's hand in both of his before he said seriously, "She hurt Mommy."

Cammie pulled him tight against her and smoothed his hair down (her go-to method of comfort) and whispered, "She did, but I'm okay now. We're all okay now."

"No more pretending?" He clarified.

She shook her head. "No pretending. Everything can go back to how it was before. Do you have any questions, Riley?"

He told her that he didn't, and we all sat there laughing and teasing each other, glad to be together again.

A little while later, Liz walked in again and asked to talk to Cammie. Riley and I left the room and it was nearly half an hour before Liz let us in. Cammie's expression was unreadable, but I could read it enough to know not to ask just yet.

* * *

"She was declared mentally unstable, but I still think that she deserves a little bit of Bex. The mental prison **(Yes, prison. Not hospital, just to clarify! Anyone else envisioning Mona from PLL right now?) **she's be-"

"Bex?"

"-Ing held in right now seriously lacks in security, and it wouldn't be that difficult to break in. Once I dis-"

"Bex!"

"-Able the cameras, it's a piece of cake, and then I can just-"

"BEX!"

"Cammie! What is it?"

"We will not be breaking into any mental prisons!"

Bex just stared at Cammie, and I had the same look of shock on my face. Bex floundered for words, trying to make sense of it, "But- What… Why… What?"

"The poor girl is _insane_. She wasn't even herself when I talked to her! I'm considering whether or not to press charges at all."

At that, I jumped in, "_Oooh_, we're pressing charges."

Cammie glared at me. "DeeDee is a sweet girl, and I don't see her, in her right state of mind, doing anything that she did. As long as she gets help and is secured somewhere where she can get that, I don't see why we can't just put this all behind us and move on with our lives, not having to deal with the ongoing legal process that would accompany pressing charges, and-"

"Fine."

"Fine?"

"Fine," I said.

"When did you become so easy to convince?"

"Since you were kidnapped, and I decided it wasn't worth it to fight over petty things."

"Zach! Listen to yourself! She was _kidnapped_! Riley was _kidnapped!_ Someone needs to pay," Bex demanded, slamming her fists against her knees.

I considered this. "Maybe Bex is right…"

"What happened to 'fighting over petty things'?"

"Sorry, Bex. Wife trumps wife's best friend. You lose."

"We'll see about that."

Grant rubbed her arm soothingly, "Bex, honey, just let it go." That got him a slap to the arm.

The door started to open, slowly and cautiously, and Cammie's parents walked in.

"Mom! Dad!"

"Cammie!" They ran to her bed and gave her a big hug.

"We were so worried. How are you, honey? Do you need anything? Let me go get you a glass of water," Rachel said.

Cammie just laughed and said, "Mom. Just calm down. I'm fine. Just stay here and talk to me."

"Mimi! Papa!" Riley squealed, tackling them in a hug.

"How's our favorite little boy?"

He contemplated this for a minute before he said, "I'm a little hungry. Do you have any cookies?"

We all laughed, and Cammie looked like she was about to make a comment about eating healthy and sugar, but she was interrupted when we heard a knock on the door, and a doctor walked in.

"Can I talk to Mrs. and Mr. Goode, please?"

"You know what, Riley? I don't have any cookies, but I bet the cafeteria does," Rachel said.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's _go!"_

He gave Cammie and me a kiss on the cheek and grabbed Rachel's hand, pulling her out of the room. Everyone else followed.

Once the door shut, the doctor introduced himself, "I'm your doctor, Dr. Bib."

Cammie smiled at him, barely stifling a laugh, "Nice to meet you. Is everything okay?"

"I wanted to update you on your status. You're going to be okay. You were extremely healthy so your body was more prepared for what happened than someone who spends all day on the couch; however, you are going to have a few side effects to deal with.

"Be prepared for migraines and soreness. You'll need to be on bed rest for about two weeks. No extreme physical exertion for a month. I'm prescribing you some medication to help with the majority of damage that you suffered, which was actually surprisingly little for the situation."

We both nodded, slightly relieved.

He gave her an unreadable look and said, "We also have some tests that just came back concerning the baby."

My heart stopped for a second. The baby? I shook my head, thinking I must have heard wrong, and I asked, "Excuse me, but did you say the baby?"

"I assume you know about the pregnancy," the doctor responded, shocked and flabbergasted.

Cammie answered him quietly, and I had to strain to hear her when she said, "Yes, I was aware."

"You're pregnant?" I whispered in awe, taking her face in my hands.

"I was going to tell you that night before everything happened. But, you know, everything happened, and I couldn't."

I kissed her right in front of the doctor. Elation was already starting to course through my body, but Cammie's next words stopped that cold.

"Is the baby okay?"

I hadn't yet considered that.

"That's what I wanted to talk about. You have to understand that your body has been through a lot of stress in the last week or so. I already explained the physical side of that. Even the mental stress you were under can affect an unborn child."

I wanted to roll my eyes in frustration. Get to the point already.

"But, is the baby _okay?_"

**Important: Please give your opinion in your review as to what you think should happen to the baby. Originally, I planned for it to be okay, but I was rethinking that as I wrote this chapter. I'd love to see what y'all think. I _need _to know what y'all think.**

**Also, I know this update took longer than I said, but that's because life got crazier than I ever expected. Like, police involvement crazy. Like, move to another state with less than a week of notice before finals and get exempted crazy. Like, _that _crazy. It was just really, really bad. So, I hope y'all can forgive me. Sol, SpanishGallagherGirl (I LOVE YOU!), can attest to the fact that I felt majorly guilty for not being able to update.**

**I hope y'all like this! It's the last chapter. I will post an epilogue soon(: Shoutouts will be with that last post(: I have another story in the works, though.**

**Also, Ash, violets-are-violet, thank you for being the bestest sister/beta ever(:**

**This is another one of those chapters that I'm not really happy with, but whatever(:**

**Please review! It makes my day, and I need that(:**

**Love y'all so much!**

**-Mary Katherine(:**


	12. Chapter 12

**I know this took a long time to get to y'all. Things have been crazy, and I haven't had the same opportunities to write that I usually do. I had a lot of decisions to make about this, and that took ages for me to weigh the pros and cons.**

**I wrote two versions of the epilogue (another reason it took so long; I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to do this or not). The first is how, if I were publishing this, I would have written the epilogue; however, I know some of you wouldn't be happy, so I included an alternative ending.**

**Unfortunately, this is short, but epilogues tend to be, don't they? Hope you enjoy(:**

_**First Version. My Version.**_

Zach POV

I leaned against the column of the porch, basking in the happiness and joy that surrounded me. Ever since I lost Cammie and Riley two years ago, I've held every moment more dearly than ever.

Cammie sat in the grass with Riley, who was patting his mommy's round tummy affectionately. Cammie was 8 months pregnant and radiant.

Losing the baby that Cammie was pregnant with when DeeDee **(I continually put Delly here….)** kidnapped her and Riley was crushing and almost tore us both apart, but now we can regard the lost baby with sorrow and love and the situation with the knowledge that it made us stronger.

I won't deny that I've never been more protective in my life, but Cammie doesn't seem to mind…. Most of the time. Riley's nearly as protective as I am, if not more. Cammie actually doesn't mind him at all, but, rather, she smiles brilliantly with pride claiming he'll be the best big brother ever.

I begin to make my way towards them both with the lemonades I have for them. I sit down next to them and immediately my fingers find Cammie's and my lips find her cheek.

"Dad!"

"Riley!" I returned his enthusiasm.

"Mom told me that you said that after the baby was born, you and I could go to the amusement park! Just us. For a whole day."

I gave Cammie a look only to see pure innocence etched into her face as she said, "Remember how you said it would be a great way to bond? And not only that, but you'd get some male time too since the house will soon be split evenly between males and females."

Did you catch that? I know we can't all be the amazing Zach Goode, knower of all, but you did catch that right?

Because, it's a girl. We're having a girl. And my face lights up brilliantly with the thought.

Cammie drags me back to reality with a look that says, 'you know you can't deny me anything when I'm pregnant with your child because you love me too much,' and my next words only confirm that.

"Yeah, buddy. I was thinking we might even be able to go twice this summer. How about that?"

"That would be wicked awesome," Riley said. **(Hey, Ash! Like my Cali lingo?(: )**

"I don't know," Cammie threw in.

Riley started to whine, "Why not, Mom?"

"My Goode boys can't spend too much time away from me!"

"Don't worry, Gallagher Girl. We'll make sure to smirk a lot in the days leading up to it. You'll be nearly throwing us out the door yourself."

At that, Riley and I smirked in unison, and Cammie's laugh rang throughout the air.

Riley groaned in disgust when my lips crashed into hers in a kiss that screamed of our love.

_**Second Alternate Version. For those that felt the above wasn't a happy enough ending!**_

"Zach, honey?" I forced my eyes to tear away from the door the doctor would be walking through any minute to meet Cammie's eyes.

"Are you okay? Is anything wrong? Do you need-"

"I think you're cutting off all circulation in my hand," she said in a light hearted voice and smiled, but I could tell she was only attempting to lighten the mood. I looked at the death my fingers had on hers, and I loosened them, attempting to send back a smile, but it came out as a strained grimace.

I hear the door open, and I turned to look at the doctor, who held up a file and smiled.

"Earlier when we talked, we talked about the risks, and we mentioned how the results were inconclusive about the state of your baby. The results are back. Your baby is alive and perfect. Your child is a fighter."

I felt a tear splash on my arm, and, being that I was holding Cammie in my arms, I assumed it was her tears until I felt my wet face.

"That's… so wonderful," Cammie whispered. "Thank you. So much." Her voice faltered and cracked at different points in the sentence from relief and joy. I squeezed her hand and placed my other hand on her abdomen.

"Of course this pregnancy will not be like most. You will need to be more cautious and more appointments will be required. We'll keep a close watch, but everything should be okay." He paused and made his way to leave.

I took the opportunity to take Cammie's face in my hands and press my lips to hers. Our salty tears of joy intermingled, and I barely heard the doctor's next words as he turned around, "And, Mr. and Mrs. Goode? Congratulations."

**It's over. I can't believe it. I have a few thanks to give(:**

_writingnow, genuineQT, stunningfire, ISpyANinjaAndItsMe, kgorange: _**Thank you for being such great reviewers and friends! I've so appreciated your encouragement.**

_Posideon: _**Oh my goodness, girl. You're a constant source of laughter, and I don't know how I would have made it without you. There were some days when our nonsensical PMs got me through the day.**

_violets-are-violet:_** Ash! Not only have you been the absolute best beta a girl could ever ask for, but you've been the best friend/sister a girl could ever ask for(: I know I can trust you. I'm so glad we've gotten to know each other, and I couldn't be more thankful. Thank you.**

_SpanishGallagherGirl: _**Sol! You're so incredibly sweet, and I know you're always there for me. It never fails to amaze me how amazing you are. I think we need to talk more(: Haha(: We do, but it's still never enough.**

_Each and every reviewer: _**Thank you. A hundred times over thank you. I never imagined my story being this successful, and even now, as I type this, I can't wrap my head around it. I feel like it's another world or something. Thank you for sticking with me. Thank you for being so fantastic and encouraging. Thank you for all the times you've helped erase my doubts, and thank you for your feedback. Thank you for forgiving me when I couldn't update, and thank you for being so understanding and encouraging throughout my real life drama.**

**If I missed you, I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I have so many people I love, and I can't keep track sometimes(:**

**I hope y'all with continue with me in my next story, **_This Kind of Love_**, which will be posted next week, probably.**

**I wish I could tell you all thank you a hundred times more, but thank you.**

**I love you all dearly(: Do me one last favor in this story and review?**


	13. Author's Note

Obviously, this has been a lot LOT longer than my "next week probably." For that, I sincerely apologize. The changes in my life finally all caught up to me, and I took some time for my personal life, which is has been insanely busy. That's the most annoying excuse in the book as a reader, though, so I hope y'all can forgive me. I'm touching up the first chapter of _A Love Like That _at this moment. So, I hope y'all are still interested(:

**_A Love Like That _is now up!****  
**

Sorry for the multiple posts today(: Please forgive me!**  
**

Samcheese1: I owe you a bigger apology than anyone, but, I am still planning on having one last chapter to this story and doing what we talked about!

That being said, _Defeated _will have one last chapter coming soon! Thanks for sticking with me you guys(: I'm so excited to be writing again.


End file.
